I’m a staff writer covering all things Wall Street and Investing. I have a love hate relationship with the world of finance. I am fascinated by the industry’s power and influence around the globe, and the ingenuity of the people it employs. Not so much a fan of the lack of accountability when the system fails—which it often does: I'm always on the hunt for people and companies to profile.

Wall Street Layoffs Continue, Morgan Stanley To Cut 1,600 Jobs

It’s not going to be a happy new year for many on Wall Street including 1,600 employees at Morgan Stanley who will lose their jobs in the first quarter.

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Morgan says the job cuts, which represent 2.6% of its 62,648 employees, will affect all staff levels and geographic areas.

The most recent cuts won’t affect the firm’s 17,000 financial advisors though a company spokesperson says there will be “some other positions eliminated in wealth management” as part of the total 1,600 layoffs. Through the third quarter the wealth management unit has has contributed $10.1 billion to Morgan’s overall revenue of $26.8 billion, and it added $15.5 billion in net new assets in the 3rd quarter alone.

The job cut announcement comes as global banks struggle with a number of challenges including revenue contraction, the growing European debt crisis and an overall slowdown in the global economy. Morgan Stanley shares are down 44% this year as are shares of rival Goldman Sachs.

In the third quarter Morgan’s investment banking revenues suffered. Underwriting revenues were down 29% to $451 million and fixed income underwriting revenues fell 44% to $212 million from a year ago.

So it’s no surprise that Morgan is looking for ways to save some money. Moreover, it’s not the first nor will it be the last bank to announce big job cuts over the next few months. Just yesterday Credit Agricole, France’s third largest bank by market value, said today it will cut 2,350 jobs.

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The MS 2.6% cut is nothing — now 15- or 20% would be worrisome. It is mere housecleaning, an easy way to unload non-performers, or an even better way to get rid of people who have climbed up high on the ladder only to get their throats cuts; and now a newbie college grad gets hired on the cheap. Corporations are the ultimate fascist machines legally on the planet today. I worked for a corporation, M.I.T. Laboratory, for 5 years, left, started my own businesses, and I would never look back or regret one minute of corporate life ever again. Its tough to make that jump, but the freedom is worth it. Maybe some of those 2.6% will get the push they need to start something great….good luck!

I agree MS’s job cuts arent so significant on their own but in the grand scheme of wall street layoffs it all adds up to a depressing amount of jobs lost in the financial sector lately. Bloomberg has some data showing that 200,000 finance jobs were lost in 2011 alone. If half of those folks start their own business and end up successful like you then we’ve suddenly got very little to worry about regarding the global economy!

That’s a lot of jobs Halah. The Internet has really killed a lot of jobs in favor of efficiency and optimization. At 7 billion people on the planet, the laws of supply and demand have destroyed the middle class concept, and we, the American people, have ben led on by the politicians claiming that NAFTA and globalization would be good for us and mean cheaper prices. The banking cartel should be ashamed of itself for laying off these people since they make so much money already. The Federal Reserve banking cartel itself has 2.7 trillion on their main ledger this year, and they have the power to print money; friends of their’s like Jamies Dimon, Brian Moynihan, Lloyd Blancfein and others should be ashamed of their own greed. In the Wallstreet movie with Michael Douglas as Gordon Gekko, he said famously — Greed Works — but does it really? I remember Made in the USA monikers, and I remember America’s industrial cities and the well-to-do middle class. The rich 1% should be ashamed of themselves for destroying it. I voted for Steve Forbes in 2000, and I wish intelligence had won the primary; he was for tax reform which we desperately need. Ron Paul is probably the only candidate that represents the common people. Do you know that 47% of women who voted for Obama voted for him because he was “cute”??? I hope people wake up in time, but I doubt it. The candidate with enough money to spin the propaganda on the media will probably win…